Thursday, June 9, 2011

Recommended Reading: The Thing about Georgie

The Thing About Georgie, by Lisa Graff, is actually a kids book and not really geared toward young adults. The protagonist is only eight years old and the specific problems he faces are typical young children. However, I'm including it here for three reasons.
     1) The writing is exceptional. It's engaging from the first page to the last page and I strongly feel that any age reader would get something out of it.

     2) Georgie is a little person. Not only are dwarf protagonists few and far between, but the way in which a person's feelings about their body impacts the way they experience the world around them is prominently featured in this book.

     3) The generalities of Georgie's problems, (stage fright, interpersonal conflict, infatuation) are problems that are common to teenagers, and indeed all of us.

From Lisa Graff's website:

The thing about poodles is that Georgie hates to walk them.


The thing about Jeanie the Meanie is that she would rather write on her shoe than help Georgie with their Abraham Lincoln project.


The thing about Georgie's mom is that she's having a baby—a baby who will probably be taller than Georgie very, very soon.


And the thing about Georgie . . . well, what is the thing about Georgie?
I first found this book on the same list as Accidents of Nature and Saffy's Angel. Another thing I enjoyed was that a number of the families that figure into the plot are non-traditional and even the secondary characters are fully developed. I can't think of any parts that would be particularly triggering for anyone. It's just a nice, light, interesting read.

Recommended Reading is a recurring feature on this blog. I'm doing this in an effort to build a list of YA books that I believe are both great stories and treat people's bodies in a sensitive manner. I will do my best to point out things about books I suggest that might be triggering even if I feel the book as a whole is worthwhile. If you have suggestions for future recommended books or comments/criticisms of books I write about please feel free to leave them in comments.

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